Forming continuous soft-metal bars fbom molten metal



1,567,363 B. S. ELROD El AL Filed Oct. 14, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FORMING CONTINUOUS SOFT METAL BARS FROM MOLTEN METAL fwlfi 3 3 W2 a w 2H 2 H 2,. m 2 5 T W m. w T 5 5w 5 H w Q A Z a. a M m a 00 w m 5i T 2 z m 2 2 :44 s fl @n I; M 2 z... s t nli a n Dec. 29 1925.

Dem-29, 1925.

B. s. ELROD ET AL FORMING CONTINUOUS SOFT METAL BARs FfioM MOL IEN METAL Filed Oct. 14 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I73 5m 4 E BSELRQJJ.

' .WM. H17 CTOR.

was Dec. 29, 192s. 1

r umreolsrarss PATENT OFF-ICE.

B I ENJ'AHIN ELROD AND WILLIAM HECTOR, OI OMAHA, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOBS, BY KESNB ASSIGNMENTS, TO OMAHA TRUST COMPANY, TRUSTEB,"A CORPORATION 01' FORMING- CONTINUOUS SOFT-METAL BARS FRO KOL'I'EN METAL Application filed October 14, 1920. Serial No. 416,904.

To all whom it may concern! I Be it known that WB,.BENJAMIN S. ELROD and WILLIAM HECTOR, citizens of the United States,' and' residents of Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Forming Continuous Soft- Metal- Bars From Molten Metal, of which the following is a specification.

- Our invention relates more partlcularly to forming continuous soft-metal bars by methods and means of the eneral class disclosed -in the ap lication of lrod, filed Ma 14, 1917 Serial Flo. 168,546, (now Patent No. 1,438,951,'dated December 19, 1922) wherein moltenmetal is delivered into a mold, or rather die, having a channel of approximately the cross-sectional form of the desired bar, the'met'al being :cooled so as to solidify while assin through the channel, the bar-forme by t eco'ohn and solidification of the metal being 'u ed from the channel while the space in t e channel from which the solid bar-portion is withdrawn is constantly refilled with a fresh supply of the molten metal, and a lubricant being in- 'troduced into the mold-channel along with the molten metal whereby to prevent any tendenc forfadhesion between the bar and the-mod, It is the object of the-present invention to provide, for the urposes indicated above,"an improved orm of die especially adapted for the production of thin bars; 'to ,provide an improved method of connecting the die with the receptacle from which the molten metal is delivered, whereby .to prevent leakage of metal at the joints and to facilitate removal and replacement of dies;'.to provide improved means for supplying the lubricant, and'for preventing escape of molten metal through the lubricant-supplying conduit; as also to providea die. wherein two bars may be formed a without addition of anly e line 2-2 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the double-bar die, Fig. 4 is a detail side view of the die-housing, Fig. 5 is a detail front view of the die-guard, Fig. 6 is a partial Ion 'tudinal section of the die, houslng and la ricant-supply conduit, and Fig. 7 is a detail transverse section of the die and housing on the vertical plane of the lines 77 of Figs. .1 and 6, a portion of the lubricant-supply pipe also being shown in vertical sectlon.

It will be understood that the illustrated structures are parts of an or anized machine, such as that shown in t e aforesald application, said machine including, in ad-' dition to the parts herein shown, a suitable formed bar from the die,

supporting frame, means for pulling the means for cutting pieces of the desired length from the continuous bar, and means for actuatin the pump by which the molten metal is d riven into the diesimultaneously with the pulling of the formed bar therefrom. 1

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, ,there is shown a melting- 0t 10 havin an integral spout ll exten ing horiz onta ly from the lower part thereof. The channel or V passage 11 through the spout communicates with the lower end of a pump-cylinder 12 which is secured in the lower portion of the pot, as shown, a piston 13-working slid-' "ably in said cylinder and moving reciprocatlngly between the lowered position shown and a raised position at which the lower end of the iston is above a lateral port 14. in the sid e of the cylinder. The pistonrod 15 is a fiat bar pivotally connected at its lower end with the piston, and pivotally connected near its upper end with the forked end of a lever 16, the latter being fulcrumed on a bracket 17 mountedon the upper edge of'the melting-pot. The.

lever 16 is oscillated about its fulcrum by suitable actuating means working in unison rmed bar with the means for pulling the dpulling of from the die, and so that the the bar from the die occurs downward stroke of the piston. end of the spout the passa e 11' is upwardly ofiset for a purpose w ich will appear hereinafter.

The die-housin 18 is formed with a uniform substant1ally rectangular longitudinal passage extendmg through 1t from uring the Near the end to end. The rear end of the dib-housing is welded to the end of the spout 11 so as to become substantially integral therewith, whereby any possibility of leaka e at the joint 19 is prevented. The vertic' dimension of the passage through the spout- 11 is considerably less than that through the die-housing, and the adjacent ends of.

' said passages are so arranged that the former enters the latter at a level somewhat above the center thereof. Near the front end of the: die-housing the same is laterally enlarged and provided at each side with a water-chamber 20, the outer sides of saidwhich is extended laterally and then down- .wardly, terminating above a waste-basin 24 from which a drain pipe 25 is extended as desired. To the lower opening in the housing there is connected a T-pipe 26, and to one branch of the latter is connected the water-supply pipe 27, which is provided with a suitable control-cock 28. To the other branch' of the T 26 is connected a pipe 29 which is extended to and connected with the waste-basin 24; In the latter pipe there is arranged a shut-off cook 30, which is normally closed, whereby the water from the supply-pipe 27 is caused to How up through the chambers 20 and pass therefrom through the discharge-pipe 23. By opening the cook 30, after closing the su ply-cock 28, the water-chambers 20 may e emptied. 1 i

' In the upper side'of thedie-housing, between the rear end thereof and the laterally enlarged portion containing the water-chamhere 20, there isa shallow recess 31 in which is placed a small specimen of the 7 metal which is being cast. Said specimen of metal is employed as an indicator to show the correct operating temperature for the mechanism, The melting-pot, the spout, and the rear end-portion of the die-housing are heated by suitable burners 32, 33

and 34 disposed beneath them, as shown in Fig. 1. 1

Dies for casting bars of any desired form,

within the capacity of the machine, may be disposed in the rectangular longitudinal 1 channel of the housing 18, the-external Eco,

form of said dies being. such that they will fit loosely within the channel through the housing, or sotthata' slightspace isleft between the outer surfaces of simple rectangular, bar is shown in Figs.

p e die andv -the inner surfaceslof the housing. A die ofsuitable form for producinga memes 1, '2, 6 and 7, and comprises a pair of rectangular side-plates35 and 36, spaced apart by narrow 'plates37 and 38 dlsposed between them "near their upper and lower and the lower spacing-plate 38.; In the die shown, which is for producing a relatively thin bar, the feed-passage beneath the baffle-plate is enlarged laterally by forming recesses 41 in the adjacent sides of the plates 35 and 36, said recesses'extending'from the rear end of the die past the front edge of the bafiic-plate. Saidrecesses 41 are conveniently produced by drilling in from the rear end of the .,die after its parts are as sembled. Said lateral enlargement of the feed-passage is unnecessary exceptfor relatively thin bars. The length of the dies made such that a portion thereof will protrude from the front end of the housing, and accidental displacement of the die from the housing is prevented by means of a guard plate 42 of the form shown in Figs. 1, 4'and 5. Said guard-plate has a central vertically extending -slot therein, adapting the same to straddle a pair of neck-grooved studs 43 which extend horizontally from i the front end of the housing, above and below the die.

Leakage of metal throughthe clearance space between the die and housing is prevented by circulation of water through the chambers 20 in sufficient quantity to main- -tain..the front end portion of the housing at a temperature below the melting-point of the. metal being cast. Under such conditions, some of the niolten metal which enters the rear end of said clearance-space freezes or solidifies upon reaching the cooled portion of the housing, and the metal itseli 1s thus caused to seal the joint around the die and .form a fluid-tight connection a be.- tween the mold and housing.

.' When it is desiredto change dier', the

so asto drain the water from the chambers 20, thus ermitting the heat from the burners to me t the metal cwhich seals the joint between the mold and housing. Thereafter the guard-plate 42 is lifted off the support- 7 ing studs 43., and the die then pulled out'of after of the sealing-metal. A ter the the sealing-metal, and particu- I larly after the removal of the die from the housing, substantially all of themetal within the housing-channel, as well as that in the front portion of the spout-channel 11', will flow out of the open end of the housing.

But, on account ofthe upward ofiset thereof the metal in the'rear portion of the spoutchannel 11 will not escape, and escape ofmetal from the pot will be prevented by the pump-piston. When replacing a die in .the housing, the same is merely inserted in the channel, and the guard-plate dropped down in front of it to prevent its being pushed out of the housing by the first flow of molten, metal into the rear portion of the housing. The water-cock isthen closed, and the supply-cock 28 bpened to reestablish the flow of waterthrough the chambers 20 and cool the housiii The pump-piston is then raised suflicient y to uncover the feed-port 14 and permit metal from the pot to flow out through the spout and into the housing.

Any air trapped in the housing behind the die escapes throu h the clearance-space around the mold, eing followed by the moltenmetal, which freezes and seals'the joint upon reaching the cooled portion of the housing. -It will be understood, of course,that'in starting the operation of the machine the opening of the die-channel is closed by a previously-formed bar of the proper size, which is inserted in the diechannel prior to admittin the molten metal to the housing. The'bar inserted in the diechannel forms a bait to which'the metal congealing within the mold-channel becomes attached, and whereby the first-formed portlion of the newbar may be pulled out of the It has proven entirelypracticable, when casting thin substantially rectangular bars, to double the capacity of the machine by using a die having two parallel channels therein, separated by a thin partition plate,

whereby two bars are formed simultane- -'ously, the 'same' being pulled from the mold and out into the desired lengths b the same mechanism employed for a sin e bar. A die of this kind is shown in ig. 3, said mold comprising side-plates 35 and 36, two

pairs of spacing-plates 37 and 38', and a central partition-plate 44. Except for the partition-plate'and the extra pair of spacingplates thestructure of this double-bar die is the same as that of the single-bar die first described. J

Minute quantities of a suitable lubricant, such as heavy oil, are introduced into the die along with the molten. metal, by the following means; In the upper side of the diehousiing near the rear and thereof is a Fig.

by forming at the upper end of the enlarged portion a seat for a valve-ball 46, which is disposed in the tube and retained therein by a pin 47 extending transversely across the tube at the end, as. shown in Fig. 6.

The upper end of the oil-tube 45 is connected by an elbow 48 with a short horizontally extending pipe 49, and the latter is connected by an elbow 50 with a vertically extending pipe 51 which may be provided at its upper end with a cup 52, as shown in In the lower portion of the pipe 51, adjoining the elbow 50, there is disposed a plug or packing 53 of asbestos or like porous or fibrous material, adapted to limit flow of oil through the tube. Oil supplied to the cup.52 and descending the vertical pipe 51, seeps-slowly through said packing. The rate of flow of the oil through the packing is dependent largely upon the length of the pipe portion which is filled with the packing material, and the density to which the packing is rammed therein. A further control of the oil feed is attained by variation of the temperature to which the packed portion of the feed-pipe is subjected, the feed being increased by higher temperature, which causes the oil to become thinner. Variation of the temperature of'the feedpipe, within the desired limits, may be attamed by swinging the horizontal pipe 49 pivotally about the valvetube 45, from a laterally extending osition, such as shown in Fi 7 to a position in which said horizontaI'fpipe extends longitudinally of the spout 11 and mold-housing. In the latter position the packed .portion of the feed-pipe is shielded from direct impingement thereon of the heated air from the burners 33 and 34, but in the position shown in Fig. 7 the pipe is directly exposed to the ascending current of heated-air, and thus receives more heat than in the shielded position.

When the machine is in operation, the valve-ball 46, by floatin upon the surface of the molten metal entering the low r end of theoil-tube-45, is caused to engage t e valveseat, and thereby prevents further entry of the metal into the tube. During each upward stroke of the pump-piston, prior to the, uncovering of the feed-port 14 ln'the side of the pump-cylinder, there is a certain" suction exerted in the passage between thepuinp and the die, and during this t1me the valve-ball is lowered from its seat and oil is drawndown through the tube 45, so as to emerge from the lower end thereof. The oil I housing, behind the die and below the feed the seal between the die and housing,

opening thereto; The oil, being lighter than the metal tends to-rise to the top thereof, but owing to the movement of the metal through the passage, the oil is carried into the die therewith. The baflle-plate 40 at the rear end of the die insures the entry of the oil into the lower portion of the die-channel and thus causes a substantially uniform distribution of the lubricant over the inner surfaces of the die, the amount of the lubricant slglplplied being merely enough to prevent a esion of the soft metal to the die surfaces.

For the best operation of the mechanism, the molten metal in the pot and spout should be maintained at a temperature only moderately above the melting-point thereof, so that the cooling and solidification of the metal in thedie-channel may be easily and rapidly effected by the circulation of water through the chambers 20. A proper balance of temperatures, between the heating and cooling means, is indicated by the condition ,of the sample of metal contained in the recess 31 on top of the die-housing, a proper working con ition being shown when the metal in the rear portion of said recess is melted while the metal a in the'front portion of. said recess remains solid, as indicated in Fig. 6. The solid metal a forming an the solid metal C withinthe mold-c nnel begin at points slightly farther forward than the point at which solidification of the metal occursin the external recess 31, since the latter 1 subjected to the cooling effect of the atm'o phere, while the heat radiated to the water-jacket from the interior parts is constantly replenished by that from the fresh supply of molten metal entering the die. The point at which solidification of the metal occurs in the die-channel will also vary more or less according to the rate at w h1ch the'cast baris being pulled out of the d1e, but the freezing-pointof the metal in thedie-channel must always be beyond the front edge of the baflie-plate 40, vasfotherwise the upper ortion of the cast bar will be defective, an consist merely of a series of pieces connected to eachother by a continuous solid portion having the sectional form'of the feed-channel below the edge of the baflle-plate.

- what we claim Now, having described. our. invention, and desire to secure-by Letters Patent is: a v

1. In the art of forming continuous soft metal bars from molten metal, wherein is employed a diehaving a longitudinal channel 'in which such metal is congealed and from which it is withdrawn pro essiv'ely, a conduit for feeding molten meta to one end of themoldschannel, and means for cooling a portion of the mold'fthus to congeal the with a conduit for delivering such metal, of

guard-plate arranged to' censes metal within such channel; the method of forming a fluid-tight joint between the die and metal deliver ng conduit, consisting in inserting the die within. said conduit so, as to partly but not completely close the open end thereof, then coolingthe die and conduit near the open'end thereof, and finally delivering the molten metal intothe conduit, whereby said metal by tending to escape through the jointbetween the conduit and die will be congealed therein and seal the same.

2. In a mechanism for forming continuous, I bars vfrom molten metal, the combination a die-housing connected with said conduit and having a longitudinal passage open at one end and arranged to receive at the other end the metalfrom the conduit, a die insertible in the open end of the pass'a e through the housing and fitting loose y therein, and means-for cooling the housing adjacent to the open end thereof, whereb. to congeal a portion of the, metal whic tends to escape through the space between the die and housing and'tp thereby seal the joint between said parts. v

3. In a mechanism of the class described, a melting-pot having an inte a1 discharge conduit provided termir ally wlth a die-housing, a die fittingloosely in said housing,

means for cooling the housing around the,

die whereby to congeal metal tendingto escape through the joint between the e and housing and to seali'sald joint, and means for heating the housing when desired to melt the sealing-metal and enable free removal and replacement of the die.

4. In a mechanism-of the class described, a die body having a continuous longitudinal channel through it, means connected with said die-body for delivering molten metalto one end of said channel, means for cooling conduit and surrounding the die transversely, means forcooling the housing and die. adjacent to the open end thereof, a

revent displacementof the die from the?) sure of metal in the conduit, and means detachably' connecting said guard-plate with the housing; v I

6. In amechanismforjformingcontinuous 13o ousmg bypresa menses soft-metal bars from molten metal, a die having a substantially uniform longitudinal channel of the sectional form of the desired bar, means connected with said die for delivering molten metal to one end of the longitudinal channel, and means partially blocking the entry to said channel whereby to direct the incoming metal primarily into the lower portion thereof.

7. Mechanism as set forth in claim 6, including means-for feeding a lubricant into the molten metal at a point adjacent to and below the entry to the die-channel, whereby said lubricant will be carried into the die along with the molten metal.

8. In amechanism of the class described, a die having a continuous channel through it in which moltenv metal is progressively congealed and from which itis thereupon delivered, means forming a feed-passage connecting with one end of the die-channel,- means for'supplying molten metal to said feed-passage, means for causing alternate pressure and suction u on the metal in said passage, a tube extending into said passage, means forsupplying oil to said tube, and an inwardly-o rung valve in said tube whereby -to admit oil to the passage during the suction phase and to prevent egress of the molten metal through the tube during the pressure base of the operation;

9. Mac anism as set forth in claim 8, in which the oil-tube extends to and terminates at a point near the bottom of the feed-passage, whereby the oil from said tube is delivered substantially at the bottom of the molten metal in said feed-passagen 10. Mechanism as set forth in claim 8, in which the oil-tube extends vertically, and the valve in said tube is arran ed near the lower end of the tube, the valve eing ada ted to float upon the molten metal entering said end of the tube, and being thereby lifted to engage thevalve-seat. '11. In a mechanism of the 'class described, a bar-formirig d1e, a'conduit for delivering molten met to the die, an oil-tube for delivering oil into said conduit so as to be carried into the die with the molten metal and means ,for varying the flow of oil through said tube, said means comprising a porous packing disposed in a portion of the tube, and means for controllin the tem rature of the packed portion of t e tube w ereby to vary the fluiditiupf the oil passing through the porous pac g.

12. A die for forming bars and'like articles from molten metel received from a suitable su ply, said die comprising a member provi ed with a longitudinal channel of approximately the cross-sectional form of such article, and means artially blocking the entry to such channel: whereby the incoming metal is primarily directed into one portion thereof.

13. A die for forming bars and like articles from molten metal received from a suitable supply. said die comprising a member provided with a longitudinal channel of approximately the cross-sectional form of such article, and means partially blocking theentry to such channel, whereby the incoming metal is primarily directed into the lower portion thereof.

14:. A die for forming bars and like ar-' ticles from molten metal received from a suitable supply. said die comprising a member provided with a longitudinal channel of approximately the cross-sectional form of such article, and a bafile plate partially blocking the entry to such channel, whereby the lncoming metal is primarily directed into one portion thereof, the unobstructed 16. A die for forming bars and like articles from molten metal received from a suitable supply, said die comprising complementary side plates, spacing lates secured therebetween, whereby a longitudinal channel is provided of approximately the crosssectional form of such article, and a baflle plate of the same thickness as said spacing plates secured in such channel at the cut thereof, whereb the incoming metal is primarily directe into one portion of such channel.

- 17. A die for forming bars and like articles from molten metal received from a suitable supply, said die comprising complementary side plates, spacing plates secured therebetween, whereby a longitudinal channel is provided of approximately the crosssectional form of sue article, and-a bafile plate of the same thickness as said spacing plates secured in such channel at the ant thereof, whereb the incoming metal is primarily directe into one portion of such channel, the inner walls of said side plates being cut away adjacent the restrlcte portion .of'such entry so as to laterally widen the same.

BENJAMIN s. ELRODQ WILLIAM micron. 

